I once went to India, Bangalore to be specific, for the wedding of a friend. The wedding was between two Christians but that was irrelevant. The actual marriage covenat was in a small church but the celebration was at the local tennis club.
If you saw the movie ‘Monsoon Wedding’ you will know what it was like, plus the smells of India.
We arrived at the big tent for the reception early to help set up. Nothing was ready.
The table clothes from the last wedding were not washed and were in a pile. There was about an hour left before the event started. Over 200 people were expected. Most of the Indian workers were doing nothing. When I asked them to help, they responded with a ‘no way’ nodding of the head.
The 20 table clothes were mushed around in a bucket of water. Not cleaned. Then wrung out by hand and put, wet, on the tables.
There were messes everywhere on the white cloth. I had brought gold leaf flakes to put on the presents. It promptly went on the worst mess spots on the table clothes. We barely finished when the wedding crowd arrived.
Despite the Indian workers 'do nothing' habits, the event was spectacular. The food was incredibly good, the dancing was wildly energetic because the band was magnificent.
In deep Indian tradition. Details don’t matter. The event was great fun for everyone.